The Trafalgar Chronicle: New Series 4

Book excerpt: This naval history anthology explores the world of Lord Nelson, his era and contemporaries, with expert articles and sumptuous illustrations. An annual publication of the 1805 Club, The Trafalgar Chronicle is dedicated to new research about naval history in the Georgian Era. Its central theme is the Trafalgar campaign and the epic battle of October 21st, 1805, involving British, French and Spanish ships, and some 30,000 men of a score of nations. This edition focuses on the friends and contemporaries of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy. It also explores technical and scientific changes that took place at the turn of the eighteenth century. Contributions include an article by former US Navy Secretary John Lehman on Stephen Decatur and another by Professor John Hattendorf on Admiral Sir John Gambier. It also includes the observations of Professor Benjamin Silliman, an American scientist who visited Britain in 1805. Other characters who appear are ‘Jack Punch’ Perkins, the first black officer in the Royal Navy; William Pringle Green, who was so critical of the results at Trafalgar; and the two Loyalist Richard Bulkeleys, father and son, who served with Nelson at the beginning and at the end of his career. Two articles on technology in the Georgian navy address the surprising developments of the carronade and ballooning in the age of Nelson.